Electrical device for surface mounting on a circuit board and mounting component thereof

ABSTRACT

An electrical device for surface mounting on a circuit board comprises a housing and a plurality of contacts wherein the distance between the region at which the pad-engaging portion of each contact engages its respective pad, and the region of the fulcrum about which the contact deflects, is maximized to reduce the magnitude of the biasing force resulting from the deflection. An improved mounting component for the device comprises a post having tangs that extend from its side which are deflected to allow the post to be inserted into the board opening and which skive into the sides of the opening to prevent the post from retraction therefrom. An improved positioning arrangement for the device comprises a pair of positioning posts having polygonal cross-sections, each having a maximum cross-sectional dimension in single, mutually orthogonal, directions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to improvements in electricaldevices intended for surface mounting on printed circuit boards and inthe mounting components thereof.

Electrical devices adapted to be mounted to the surface of printedcircuit boards are conventional. Circuit boards on which such electricaldevices are surface mounted are provided with terminal pads or areaswhich form part of the printed circuits, and the devices are providedwith contacts or leads having pad-engaging portions which are configuredand positioned to be placed in overlying alignment with the terminalpads. Generally, the pads are coated with a solder paste compositionand, after the pad-engaging contact portions are placed into engagementwith appropriate terminal pads, the solder composition is reflowed tothereby obtain a secure electrical engagement between each contactportion and its respective terminal pad. Connector devices are alsomechanically connected to the boards, generally by mounting posts thatare inserted into corresponding openings formed in the board until theirbarbed or hooked ends snap into engagement with the underside of theboard.

Since the terminal pads on the board are coplanar, it would beadvantageous if the pad-engaging contact portions of the surface mounteddevice were also precisely coplanar so that all the contact portionscould be placed into electrical engagement with the terminal padswithout having to deflect or flex one or more of the contacts to bringthe other contact portions into engagement with the terminal pads.However, this is not possible to accomplish on a production basis sothat in practice, one or more of the contacts must be deflected to someextent in order to bring all the contact portions into electricalengagement with their corresponding terminal pads. The unavoidabledeflection of one or more of the contacts in assembling a surfacemounted device to a printed circuit board results in a biasing forcebeing built into the assembly which tends to separate the device fromthe board and cause the integrity of the soldered electrical connectionsto degrade.

Moreover, conventional mounting posts used to mechanically connectdevices to printed circuit boards present problems. In the case ofsurface mount applications, when the hooked ends of the mounting postsof a board-mounted device snaps into engagement with the underside ofthe board, the impact may cause hundreds of small components that arelaying in the solder paste prior to the surface mount soldering processto be jarred from their pads. In both surface and pin mountapplications, the mounting posts must be specially sized for eachapplication, having an appropriate diameter corresponding to thediameter of the opening in the printed circuit board, and a lengthcorresponding to the board thickness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new andimproved electrical devices for surface mounting to circuit boards.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improvedelectrical devices for surface mounting on circuit boards in which thebiasing force resulting from the deflection of one or more of the leadsor contacts during the surface mounting procedure is minimized.

Still another object of the invention is to provide new and improvedmounting components for board-mounted devices.

A further object of the invention is to provide new and improvedmounting components for board mounted devices which allow a smooth, lowimpact connection of the device to the board while achieving highretention in a range of hole sizes and printed circuit boardthicknesses.

Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, these and otherobjects are attained by providing an improved construction wherein thedistance between the region at which the pad-engaging contact portion ofeach contact engages its respective pad, and the region of the fulcrumabout which the contact deflects is maximized to thereby reduce themagnitude of the biasing force resulting from the deflection. With ashorter distance between the pad-engaging contact portion and thebending point of the contact, as is conventional, a greater biasingforce will result from the same degree of deflection of the contact and,in some cases, the bending point or fulcrum of the contact is so closeto the pad-engaging contact portion that even a small deflection of thecontacts results in large biasing forces tending to separate the devicefrom the board.

Further in accordance with the invention, the above-stated objects,among others, are attained by providing an improved construction for amounting component of board mounted devices comprising a post dependingfrom the device having tangs that extend from its side which aredeflected to allow the post to be inserted into the board opening, andwhich skive into the sides of the opening to prevent the post fromretracting therefrom. In a preferred form, the mounting componentcomprises a post having a through-slot into which a clip formed of aresilient metallic material is inserted and affixed. The clip isconfigured so that its ends protrude beyond the profile of the postupwardly away from the direction of insertion of the post into the boardopening. The clip ends are deflected inwardly as the post is insertedinto the hole in the board and skive into the sides of the hole toachieve a high degree of retention. The construction allows a posthaving a particular length and diameter to effectively connect thedevice to boards of different thicknesses and hole sizes in a smooth,low impact operation which will not jostle other electrical devicespositioned on the board.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of theattendant advantages thereof will be readily understood by reference tothe following detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a connector constructed inaccordance with on aspect of the invention which is spaced from themounting surface of a circuit board;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an inner housing part of the connector ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view of an outer housing part of theconnector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a section view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 1 of another embodimentof a connector constructed in accordance with one aspect of theinvention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 1 of a third embodimentof a connector constructed in accordance with one aspect of theinvention and also provided with improved mounting components inaccordance with another aspect of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the connector of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a rear elevation view of the connector of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a mounting componentassembly inserted in a corresponding hole in a printed circuit board inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation view of the mounting post of the assembly ofFIG. 12; and

FIG. 13 is a bottom plan view of the mounting post assembly of FIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-6 of the drawings wherein like referencecharacters designate identical or corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, an embodiment of a device in accordance with the presentinvention, in the form of a jack connector 10 adapted to be coupled to amodular-type plug connector, is constructed of a plurality of conductivecontacts 12 (only one shown) and a housing 14 formed of an insulativematerial, such as plastic, including a first inner housing part 16 and asecond outer housing part 18. The connector 10 is similar in severalrespects to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,863, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference, which is adapted to beconnected to a printed circuit board by contact pins inserted into holesin a printed circuit board.

FIG. 1 shows the connector 10 positioned above the mounting surface 2 ofa circuit board 4 in preparation for mounting the connector to thecircuit board. The mounting surface 2 of circuit board 4 has circuitboard conductors 6 which extend to terminal pads 8. The housing 14 ofconnector 10 has integral mounting posts 56 (only one shown) which arereceived in holes 9 (only one shown) in the circuit board. The mountingposts 56 as shown are conventional and include a barbed or hooked end56a which snaps into engagement with the underside of board 4 by virtueof slots 56b (FIG. 5) formed in the posts. Pad-engaging portions 12a ofcontacts 12 extend from the connector housing 14 and are intended to beconnected by soldering to aligned terminal pads 8. The connector isassembled to the circuit board by moving it downwardly from the positionshown in FIG. 1 so that the mounting posts 56 enter the holes 9 whilethe pad-engaging contact portions 12a are located against the terminalpads 8. The terminal pads 8 are coated with a solder paste compositionwhich is then reflowed to establish a bond between the pad-engagingcontact portions 12a and the terminal pads 8.

During the surface mounting process, one or more of the contact portions12a will be pressed against respective terminal pads 8 so that therespective contacts 12 are deflected or bent to some degree until all ofthe pad-engaging contact portions engage respective terminal pads. Inother words, the contact whose contact portion 12a is the first toengage a terminal pad 8 during the assembly process, will bend or flexto a greater degree than the other contacts. It is an object of theinvention to reduce the biasing force which results from such deflectionof the contacts to thereby minimize the tendency of the connector toseparate from the circuit board and improve the integrity of theelectrical connection.

As best seen in FIG. 1, each contact 12 is formed of suitable conductivematerial, such as phosphor bronze, and includes the pad-engaging portion12a, a mating contact portion 12b adapted to mate with correspondingcontacts of a plug, and a substantially L-shaped intermediate portion12c including a first leg 12c₁, and a second leg 12c₂. The pad-engagingcontact portion 12a extends from the end of the first leg 12c₁, of theintermediate L-shaped contact portion, while the mating contact portion12b extends from the end of the second leg 12c₂ of the L-shaped contactportion. In accordance with the invention, the connector is constructedsuch that in the case that the pad-engaging portion 12a of contact 12engages the terminal pad 8 during the mounting procedure such thatdeflection of the contact 12 occurs, the contact 12 is deflected about afulcrum or bending point 13 located on the second leg 12c₂ of theintermediate contact portion 12c which is remote and at a substantialdistance from the pad-engaging contact portion 12a to thereby minimizethe resulting biasing force between the connector and the printedcircuit board.

The connector of the illustrated embodiment includes six contacts 12,three of which have longer second legs 12c₂ than the other three withwhich they alternate in order to provide a higher density of electricalconnections as will be understood by those skilled in the art. In otherrespects, the construction of the contacts 12 are identical.

As noted above, the connector housing 14 is formed of two parts, namely,a first inner housing part 16 and a second outer housing part 18. Theinner housing part 16 is inserted within the outer housing part 18 andis lockingly interfit therewith, after pre-assembly of the contacts 12with the inner housing part 16, to thereby capture the contacts 12between them, the contacts thereby being completely enclosed within thehousing (except for the pad-engaging portions 12a) and precisely locatedto engage corresponding contacts of a mating plug connector.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner housing part 16 is formed ofsuitable plastic material and has a substantially L-shaped configurationincluding a back portion 26 and a guide portion 28 extending from thetop of the back portion 26 in a cantilever fashion. Back portion 26 hasa bottom surface 29 best seen in FIG. 4 from which a pair of end walls31 depend. The back and guide portions 26 and 28 have a common topsurface 30. A plurality of substantially vertical, parallel bores 32 areformed through the back portion 26, the number of bores 32 correspondingto the number of contacts 12. Each bore 32 extends throughout the entireheight of the back portion 26 opening onto the top surface 30 and therecessed bottom surface 29 thereof, and has a downwardly taperingcross-section best seen in FIG. 4. The bottom ends 32a of the bores forma pattern which conforms to the pattern of the terminal pads of theprinted circuit board to which the connector is to be mounted.

A plurality of substantially parallel guide slots or channels 36 areformed in the top surface 30 of guide portion 28, each channel 36opening at its rearward end into the top of a respective one of thebores 32 and terminating at its forward end 37 which is recessedrearwardly of the forward edge 28a of the guide portion 28. Fingers 38project forwardly from the guide portion 28 separating the forward ends37 of adjacent guide channels 36.

Each channel 36 has substantially the same width as the width of acontact 12 and includes a shallow forward portion 36a, a deeper rearwardportion 36b and a relatively short intermediate portion 36c ofincreasing depth interconnecting the shallow forward and deep rearwardchannel portions. The forward channel portion 36a defined by bottom wall39a parallel to top surface 30 has a depth which is substantially thesame as the height or thickness of contact 12. On the other hand, thedepth of the rearward channel portion 36b defined by bottom wall 39bparallel to top surface 30 is greater than the height or thickness ofthe contact. The intermediate channel portion 36c is defined by adownwardly and rearwardly extending bottom wall 39c interconnecting thebottom walls of the forward and rearward channel portions 36a and 36b.

Means are provided on the first inner housing part 16 for facilitatingthe assembly of the same to the second outer housing part 18 and lockingthe housing parts to each other. In particular, a pair of upper rails 42are provided along the lateral sides of the guide portion 28 while apair of lower rails 44 parallel to upper rails 42 are provided along thelateral sides of back portion 26. A pair of locking projections 46 arealso formed on the lateral sides of back portion 26 above respectivelower rails 44, each locking projection including a camming surface 46aand a rearwardly facing vertical locking surface 46b.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the outer housing part 18 comprises aunitary molded plastic member having a substantially rectangular shapeformed by opposed top and bottom walls 50 and 52 and opposed side walls54 defining an interior space between them. The inner and outer surfacesof the respective walls are designated by corresponding referencenumerals followed by the suffixes "a" and "b" respectively. Bottom wall52 has a rectangular cutout 53 which opens onto the rearward end 55 ofhousing part 18. The posts 56 project downwardly from bottom wall 52 forconnecting the connector to the printed circuit board as describedabove. A pair of flanges 58 project laterally from side walls 54 forfacilitating mounting of the connector to a chassis, if desired.

The interior of the housing part 18 is divided by a wall 64 into aforward plug receptacle 60 and a rearward space 62 (FIG. 6) forreceiving the back portion 26 of the inner housing part 16 with theguide portion 28 extending between both spaces 60 and 62. The wall 64projects upwardly from bottom wall 52 and has a rear surface 66, a frontsurface 68 and a top surface 70 which is angled upwardly in the forwarddirection as best seen in FIG. 6. The distance between the rear surface66 of wall 64 and the rear end 55 of the housing part 18 is essentiallyequal to the longitudinal dimension of the back portion 26 of innerhousing part 16. The distance between the plane of the outer surface 52bof bottom wall 52 and the inner surface 50a of top wall 50 issubstantially equal to the height dimension of the inner housing part16. A comb-like structure comprising a plurality of longitudinallyextending, spaced partitions 72 project upwardly from the top surface 70of wall 64 and define a corresponding number of guide slots 74 togetherwith a pair of outermost walls 76 situated at respective lateral sidesof the wall 64. Upon assembly of the connector, the guide slots 74 arealigned with the forward edges 37 of guide channels 36 of the innerhousing part 16.

A pair of longitudinally extending shoulders 78 terminating at abutmentsurfaces 80 project inwardly from the inner surfaces 54a and sidewalls54 within receptacle space 60 for engaging a conventional modularconnector when the latter is inserted into the receptacle 60. In thisconnection, a pair of spaced lips 82 project upwardly from the bottomwall 52 at the opening at the front end 84 of the outer housing part 18.These lips constitute locking surfaces for the locking tab of a modularplug connector, as is conventional. A lip 86 projects downwardly fromthe top wall 50 at the front end 84 of housing part 18.

A pair of upper channels 88 are formed in the inner surfaces 54a of sidewalls 54 immediately below the top wall 50 for receiving the upper rails42 of the guide portion 28 of inner housing part 16. Upper rails 42extend from the rear end 55 of the outer housing part 18 to the innerside of lip 86 at the forward end 84 of housing part 18. A pair of lowerchannels 90 are formed in the inner surfaces 54a of sidewalls 54extending from the rear housing part end 55 up to the rear surface 56 ofseparating wall 64. The lower channels 90 receive the lower rails 44 ofinner housing part 16 upon assembly. A pair of locking projections 92are formed on the inner surfaces 54a of side walls 54 and each includesa camming surface 92a and a forwardly facing locking surface 92b adaptedto lockingly engage the locking surfaces 46b of locking projections 46upon assembly as described below.

Referring to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 3-6, the assembly ofthe connector 10 will now be described. The contacts 12 are initiallypreformed to the shape illustrated in FIG. 2, i.e., the first and secondlegs 12c₁ and 12c₂ are bent at right angles to each other. The secondleg 12c₂ is formed to include an inclined mid-portion c shaped toconform to the bottom wall 39c of channel 36, and forward and rearwardportions a and b shaped to conform to the bottom walls 39a and 39b ofchannel 36. The mating contact portion 12b is bent at right angles tothe second leg 12c₂. Prior to bending the end portion 12a' of thecontact corresponding to the pad-engaging portion 12a, the colinearcontact portions 12a', 12c₁ of each contact are inserted into arespective bore 32 so that the end portion 12a' of the contactcorresponding to the pad-engaging portion 12a projects below the bottomsurface 29 of the back portion 26 and so that the second leg 12c₂ of thecontact is received in a corresponding guide channel 36 as seen inFIG. 1. The second leg 12c₂ of the contact 12 is supported along itsentire length (except where it extends over the open top of the bore 32)by the bottom wall portions 39a, 39b and 39c of guide channel 36. Theforward end portions of each contact corresponding to mating contactportion 12b pass over the forward edges 37 of guide channels 36. Asdiscussed above, the dimensions of the guide channels 36 and contacts 12are such that the exposed upper surfaces of the forward portion a of thesecond leg 12c₂ of the contact which rests upon the bottom wall 39a ofthe shallow portion 36a of guide channel 36 is substantially flush withthe upper surface 30 of the inner housing part 16. On the other hand,substantial space is provided above the rearward portion b of the secondleg 12c₂ which is supported on the bottom wall 39b of the deep portion36b of guide channel 36. The pad-engaging contact portions 12a are bentwith respect to the first legs 12c₁, of the L-shaped contact portion tothe shape shown in FIG. 1.

The sub-assembly of the inner housing part 16 and contacts 12 is theninserted into the rearward space 62 within outer housing part 18 in thedirection of arrow A of FIG. 2 with the upper and lower rails 42 and 44being received in the upper and lower channels 88 and 90. Duringinsertion, the mating contact portions 12b are aligned with respectiveones of the guide slots 74 formed between partitions 72 and engage thesurface 70 whereby the mating contact portions 12b are bent into theshape shown in FIG. 1 as insertion continues. The camming surfaces 46a,92a, of locking projections 46, 92 engage each other until the lockingsurfaces 46b, 92b snap into engagement whereupon the inner and outerhousing parts become locked to each other. When insertion has beencompleted, the end region of each mating contact portion 12b bears witha spring force against the top surface 70. Partitions 72 prevent thecontacts 12 from contacting each other during operation.

As seen in FIG. 1, the inner surface 50a of the top wall 50 of the outerhousing part 18 bears against the top surface 30 of the inner housingpart 16. At the same time, the inner surface 50a of top wall 50 of theouter housing part bears against the top surfaces of the forwardportions a of the second legs 12c₂ of the contacts 12 from their forwardends up to a point 13 at which the inclined contact portions c begin toextend downwardly away from top wall 50 and along the bottom wall 39c ofguide channel 36. The inner surface 50a of the top wall 50 of the outerhousing part 18 is spaced from the top surfaces of the rearward portionsb of the second legs 12c₂ as best seen in FIG. 1.

Thus, the forward portion a of the second leg 12c₂ of each contact 12 isclamped between the inner surface 50a of top wall 50 of the outerhousing part and the bottom wall 39a of the guide channel 36. However,the rearward and inclined portions b and c of the second leg 12c₂ of thecontact are free to move within the space defined between the innersurface 50a of the top wall 50 and the bottom wall portions 39b and 39cof guide channel 36 with respect to the fulcrum or bending point 13.Still referring to FIG. 1, in mounting the connector 10 on the printedcircuit board 4, the connector is lowered until the outer surface 52b ofthe bottom wall 52 of the outer housing part is contiguous with themounting surface 2 of the printed circuit board 4, with the mountingposts 56 being received within openings 9 and the pad-engaging contactportions 12a engaging the terminal pads 8. As the pad-engaging contactportions 12a engage the terminal pad 8, one or more of the contacts 12will deflect to the dotted line position 12' illustrated in FIG. 1 withrespect to the fulcrum or bending point 13. It is clear from FIG. 1 thatthe fulcrum 13 is remote and spaced a relatively large distance from thepad-engaging portion 12a of contact 12 so that the biasing force set upin the contact is relatively small. It will also be understood from FIG.1 that a contact 12 may be deflected to an even greater extent then thatillustrated so long as clearance exists between the second leg 12c₂ ofcontact 12 and the inner surface 50a of the top wall of the outerhousing part.

Referring now to FIG. 7, another embodiment of a surface mountedconnector in accordance with the invention is illustrated and partsthereof corresponding to similar parts of the connector illustrated inFIGS. 1-6 are designated by the same reference numeral, primed. Theessential difference between the connector illustrated in FIG. 7 and theone illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 is that only a single row of bores 32' areprovided through the back portion 26' of the inner housing part 16'. Thedesign is similar to the one illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 in the essentialfeature that the fulcrum or bending point 13' of contact 12' is situatedon the second leg 12c₂ of the intermediate contact portion 12c'substantially remote from the position of the pad-engaging contactportion 12a'.

Referring now to FIGS. 8-10, a third embodiment of a connector intendedto be surface mounted on a printed circuit board is illustrated. Theconstruction of this connector is similar to the first and secondembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7 and corresponding componentsare designated by the same reference characters, double primed. Theconstruction differs in the constructional arrangement for positioningthe fulcrum point around which the contact deflects at a maximumdistance from the pad-engaging contact portion, and in that improvedcomponents for mounting the connector on the board are provided.

Unlike the embodiments of the invention discussed above, in theconstruction of connector 10" the guide channels 36" formed in the topsurface 30" of the inner housing part 16" are of uniform depth,substantially equal to the thickness of the contacts 12". On the otherhand, the inner surface 50a" of the top wall 50" of the outer housingpart 18" includes a first portion X which overlies and abuts againstforward portions of the second legs 12c₂ " of contacts 12, a secondrearwardly and upwardly inclined portion Y which gradually departs fromthe upper surface of the contacts, and a third portion Z extendingparallel to the portion X of inner wall 50a" and which is spaced fromthe upper surfaces of contacts 12". As seen in FIG. 8, the second legs12c₂ " of contacts 12' are essentially linear and do not include theinclined ramp portions as in the contacts of the embodiments of FIGS. 1and 7. In the case of the embodiment of FIGS. 8-11, the fulcrum orbending points 13" of contacts 12 are defined at the points at which theinner surface 50a" of the top wall 50" of the outer housing partdisengages the upper surfaces of contacts 12", i.e. at the intersectionof the inclined and first wall portions Y and X of the inner surface50a" of top wall 50". As in the case of the previously discussedembodiments, the fulcrum or bending points 13" of contacts 12" areremote and substantially spaced from the pad-engaging contact portions12 a" so that when one or more of the contacts are deflected uponmounting to the surface of the printed circuit board, only a relativelysmall biasing force will be created.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the aspect of theinvention described above is not limited to the particular embodimentsdisclosed. For example, although it is preferred that the contacts befully enclosed within the housing in the manner shown, such as byproviding that the top wall of the outer housing part overlie the secondleg of the contact while the first leg passes through bores formed inthe inner part of the housing, it is possible to implement the inventionwithout these features so long as the fulcrum or bending points of thecontacts are located on the second legs of the contacts at a positionsubstantially spaced and remote from the pad-engaging contact portions.

The connector 10" shown in FIGS. 8-10 is, according to another aspect ofthe invention, provided with a mounting component 70 which allows asmooth, low impact, high retention connection of the connector 10" to aprinted circuit board in a range of hole sizes and board thickness.Referring to FIGS. 8-10 in conjunction with FIGS. 11-13, mountingcomponent 70 comprises a substantially cylindrical molded post 72depending from bottom wall 52" of connector 10" through which a slot 74is formed opening onto diametrically opposed sides of the post 72. Theslot 74 comprises a narrow intermediate portion 76 and a pair ofoutwardly widening end portions 78, each defined by inwardly taperingupper and lower walls 80 and 82 and side walls 84. The mountingcomponent 70 further includes a clip 86 comprising a thin piece of sheetmetal having a substantially rectangular shape and a thicknesssubstantially equal to the width of the narrow intermediate slot portion76 positioned within slot 74. As seen in FIG. 11, the clip 86 is shapedto include an intermediate portion 88 situated in the intermediateportion 76 of slot 74, and a pair of end portions 90 extending upwardlytowards the bottom wall 52" of the housing of connector 10". The clipend portions 90 of clip 86 extend through the slot end portions 78 andterminate beyond the profile of post 72 at ends 92. The upwardlydirected, protruding ends 92 of clip 86 thus form tangs that extend fromthe sides of post 72.

In operation, as the post 72 is inserted into an opening 9" of a circuitboard 4" (FIG. 11), the clip ends 92 are deflected inwardly and upwardlyaway from the direction of insertion of the post 72 into hole 9"allowing the mounting component 70 to be smoothly received within hole9". On the other hand, if a force is applied to the connector 10" orboard 4" tending to remove the component 70 from hole 9", the clip ends92 skive into the surface defining hole 9" providing a high degree ofretention.

Since there is no snapping or high impact engagement between themounting component and the printed circuit board, a mounting componentin accordance with the invention is particularly suited for surfacemounted arrangements since the other components laying in the solderpaste prior to the surface mount soldering process will not be jarredfrom their pads. Moreover, it will be understood that since a mountingcomponent in accordance with the invention connects to a board withoutengaging its underside, and the degree of deflection of the clip ends ortangs can accommodate different size board openings, the same mountingcomponent can be used to effectively connect devices to boards ofdifferent thicknesses and hole sizes, an important advantage for bothsurface mount and pin mount applications. The post need not becylindrical. For example, the post may have a square cross-section. Theends of the clip need not be bent at an upward angle prior to insertionof the post into the board opening, but may extend substantiallyhorizontally and only be bent upwardly as the post is inserted into theboard opening.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, as an additional feature of the invention,the connector 10" is provided with a pair of positioning posts 102 and104 which are configured to cooperate with corresponding openings in theboard to precisely position the connector with respect to the board. Inparticular, each post 102, 104 has a diamond-shaped profile, the diamondshape of post 102 being elongated in the longitudinal direction whilethe diamond shape of post 104 is elongated in the transverse direction.The longitudinal dimemsion Y of post 102 and transverse dimension X ofpost 104 are equal to each other and slightly greater than the diameterof the board openings in which they are received so that the respectiveposts have interference fits with the board openings. Since thetransverse dimension of post 102 and longitudinal dimension of post 104are both smaller than the opening diameter, the posts 102 and 104provides longitudinal and transverse datums functioning to preciselyposition the connector 10" with respect to the printed circuit board.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that within the scope of the claims appendedhereto, the invention may be practiced otherwise then as specificallydisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device intended to be mounted on a printedcircuit board having an opening formed therethrough, comprising:ahousing and a plurality of contacts associated therewith; and at leastone mounting component for mechanically connecting said device to saidprinted circuit board, said mounting component including a postconnected at one end to said housing, said post having a maximumtransverse dimension less than a maximum transverse dimension of saidboard opening, a slot formed through said post and opening ontosubstantially opposed side regions of said post, and a clip membersituated in said slot, said clip member having terminal ends thatprotrude beyond the profile of said post, said clip ends constitutingtangs, said tangs adapted to deflect upon insertion of said post intosaid opening in said printed circuit board, and skive into the sides ofthe opening to prevent removal of the post from said board opening.
 2. Adevice as recited in claim 1 wherein said tangs extend from said postgenerally towards said housing.
 3. A device as recited in claim 1wherein said post is substantially cylindrical and said terminal ends ofsaid clip member extend from said slot at substantially diametricallyopposed side regions of said post.
 4. A device as recited in claim 1wherein said clip includes an intermediate portion and a pair of endportions integral with said intermediate portion and extending at anangle with respect to said intermediate portion.
 5. A device as recitedin claim 4 wherein said slot includes a narrow intermediate portion anda pair of outwardly widening end portions opening onto saidsubstantially opposed side regions of said post.
 6. A device as recitedin claim 5 wherein said clip is formed of metallic sheet material.